PS News presents reports on recent College activities
and a selection of announcements, events and initiatives in the
wider education community that will be of interest to our members.

Minister clarifies role of College

- to serve public and professional interests

"It's important that there be a College of Teachers and that people
serve selflessly to promote the public interest, says Ontario's Minister
of Education Gerard Kennedy.

In June, during the Minister's annual address to College Council, Kennedy
affirmed education as his government's priority and explained the role
he perceived for the College within the sector.

The College was established through provincial legislation, with the
agreement of all political parties that teachers were respected as professionals
who had the ability to self-regulate, he said.

"We really do think there is an important identity for teachers as professionals," said
Kennedy. "We think it's important that they understand, support and have
respect for the body that oversees issues of discipline and professionalism.

"The College though - I want to be very clear - exists for one reason," Kennedy
said. "It's not for teacher interest. It can't be. It is a delegation
of authority and responsibility from the government for the public interest.
Only a select number of professions are capable of sustaining that."

The education system we have may not be good enough for the times that
we have, he said. More must be done to challenge students so they don't
fall behind or fail to realize their potential. He called unacceptable
an estimate that 48,000 students out of the double-cohort year would
not earn their high school diplomas.

The College is not a trade-off place . its commitment
is to the public.

Gerard Kennedy

"We need to endow this generation with an education advantage," he said. "We
see ourselves articulating that, working with teachers, working with
the entire education sector."

He noted his government's actions to support public education - directing
more than one billion new dollars towards the sector since being elected
last October.

He also said it was his government's role to help change the perception
of the College by "neutralizing" some of the discontent about its value
and purpose. Using his Education Partnership Table as a sounding board,
the Minister has asked parents, students, principals, education directors,
teachers and support staff from across the system for advice about "depoliticizing" the
College. He said he expected considerable feedback by this fall and he
also welcomed input from the College itself.

"As individuals or as a collective, give us your best advice on how
the College can re-optimize," he told Council members.

Kennedy said that as long as the government is satisfied that the College
conducts itself in the public interest, "we are never going to interfere
with the operations of this body. We will not overrule the decisions
of the College."

The Minister also promised that the government would soon replace five
vacant public appointee positions on Council.

"We are not going to pick partisans that support the government of the
day. Nor are we picking people that represent discernibly any kind of
caucus. There will be people who care about education, who are supportive
of teachers and who understand the public interest when it comes to making
sure that teachers are regulated fairly."

The College is not a trade-off place, Kennedy said. Its commitment is
to the public.

He said he wants to move away from federation slates and caucuses.

"There should not be direct involvement by self-interest groups in the
election of the College," he said. "We have asked for that and we have
had some interesting discussions with the teacher federations.

"If someone is a leader in a teacher federation, they are by definition
someone who is looking after the interest of teachers and their particular
organizations. That's their job. You around this table have a slightly
different job. You hold teaching to the highest standard possible."

When asked what having a majority of classroom teachers on Council meant,
Kennedy said, "People who are elected by people in the classroom. If
we're afraid to have the College of Teachers run by teachers, then why
would we have it?"

MEN IN TEACHING: UPDATE

Research initiative continues

The first leg of the Men in Teaching research journey is complete. What's
clear from consultations with students, teachers and school administrators
is that more male teachers are needed. What is not as clear is how to
attract them.

Focus groups in English and French were held in April and May throughout
the province to seek causes of and solutions to the declining number
of men in teaching. Currently, one third of Ontario's teachers are male.
Among men under 30 who are entering the profession, only one in ten is
teaching at the primary level.

This joint project will next gather the thoughts of education directors,
deans and faculty members and federation representatives. The project
partners - Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Laurentian University's
English-language School of Education, Conseil scolaire de district du
Centre-Sud-Ouest and the Ontario College of Teachers - expect to forward
a report with recommendations to the Minister of Education later this
fall.

Students said they want interesting, challenging and well paying careers.
They recognize the altruism in teaching and believe it contributes to
society. They're less sure of the personal rewards. They question teaching's
status; they think it's a "nurturing" role, more suited to women. Students
also think teacher wages are lacking.

Teachers see the need for more of a gender balance, particularly at
the primary level.

Teachers had concerns about the loss of respect for the profession and
low starting salaries. They also worried that accusations of sexual misconduct
or challenges about inappropriate behaviour were scaring men away from
working with young children.

Participants blue-skied a range of possible solutions including: advertising
campaigns, changes to salary grids and part-time BEd programs that would
allow people to continue to work at their current jobs while pursuing
careers in teaching.

So far, students, teachers and administrators agree:

It's a good idea to have more men in teaching.

Boys appreciate male teachers as role models.

Boys feel they can talk to male teachers more freely about their
issues and concerns.

PROGRESS REPORT

Bridging program closes information gaps

Acting manager appointed

Web site designed

Information, skills upgrading and job search assistance provided

Linda Zaks-Walker, formerly acting manager of the College's Intake and
Hearings Unit, has been appointed project manager of Teach in Ontario,
the bridging program that prepares internationally trained teachers for
employment in Ontario's publicly funded schools.

Operating as a partnership project of the Ontario Teachers Federation
(OTF), LASI World Skills, Skills for Change and the Ontario College of
Teachers, the 18-month, Ontario-government-funded project aims to speed
the licensing and hiring of internationally trained teachers.

Intake consultants have been hired and trained to assist applicants.
The partners worked together to develop a web site (www.teachinontario.ca)
designed by OTF, which will be launched this fall. The site will simplify
and enhance information for teachers trained in other countries who are
considering teaching in Ontario.

The project does not change any of Ontario's current licensing requirements.
Instead, it provides information, advice, language upgrading and exposure
to Ontario schools and curriculum, as well as assisting with job searches.

One of the goals of the Teach in Ontario project is to address teacher
shortages in high-need subject areas such as French, chemistry, physics,
computer sciences, mathematics and technology studies - filling vacancies
created by teachers' retirements.

Concours provincial de français de l'Ontario

Each year, select students from Ontario compete for top honours in
French-language proficiency.

Students from Orleans took the top two spots at the 66th Concours provincial
de français de l'Ontario at York University's Glendon College
in May. The University of Ottawa and Laurentian University help to organize
the annual event, which encourages postsecondary studies in French in
the province.

Each year, French-language secondary schools nominate two of their students
to participate in the contest. Grade 12 nominees must prove their understanding
of French by undergoing rigorous examinations in composition, dictation,
précis-writing and reading comprehension.

The Fédération des caisses populaires de l'Ontario and
its affiliates were the primary financial supporters of the contest.
All finalists received books and magazines in recognition of their merits,
and 11 grand prizes were presented for overall achievement. Grand prize
awards for students ranged from $5,700 in scholarships and prize money
to a combination of $200 plus tuition fees.

Additional prizes - first ($1,000), second ($750) and third ($450) - were
awarded in each assessment category.

The University of Ottawa will host next year's competition. For information www.concours2004.ca

COLLEGE VISITORS

Delegations from abroad visit to inform themselves on the College's
legislative mandate and operations - including accreditation, training,
licensing, professional and ethical standards, and the investigations
and hearings process.

kuwaiti visitor (LEFT): Assistant
Under Secretary for Planning and Information, Jafar Y. Al-Aryan (left)
from Kuwait's Ministry of Education was accompanied on his visit to the
College by James W. Fox of the Canadian Bureau for International Education.
chinese
delegation (RIGHT): A
delegation of principals and teachers from the People's Republic of China
visits the College while in Toronto to participate in the University
of Toronto International Innovation Project.

RESOURCE

Help in French for special needs

Help is at hand for francophone parents regarding special needs students.

A new information kit - available at all French-language boards and
from their Special Education committees - has been produced by Parents
partenaires en éducation (PPE). The kit includes a videotape and
user's guide full of useful information regarding learning disabilities
and offers advice on how to plan information and training sessions.

PPE, which is the only province-wide body representing parents of children
in the French-language system in Ontario, also begins publishing an information
bulletin for parents this fall.

US study on sexual misconduct released

Charol Shakeshaft paints a grim picture in her study regarding sexual
misconduct in US schools, carried out under President Bush's No Child
Left Behind initiative. Shakeshaft, a professor at Hofstra University
in Hempstead, NY, concludes that as many as one in ten students are subject
to inappropriate behaviour by a teacher or other school employee between
Kindergarten and high school graduation.

"The situation in Ontario is decidedly different," says Rosemary Gannon,
co-ordinator of the Ontario College of Teachers' Investigations and Hearings
Department. In statistics gathered at the College since 1997, 112 teachers
have been found guilty of professional misconduct related to sexual abuse. "With
nearly 190,000 members of the College, this represents less than 0.01
per cent of the teaching population," says Gannon.

In contrast, Shakeshaft's report to Congress regarding the incidence
and prevalence of sexual misconduct in US schools is based on a literature
review and the misconduct addressed includes a wide range of behaviours - from
inappropriate comments and jokes to forced sex.

The preface does express reservations about the inclusion of such a
wide range of behaviours. The department says that the vast majority
of schools in America are safe places and that the overwhelming majority
of America's teachers are true professionals. But it also asserts that "sexual
misconduct in whatever form is a serious problem in our nation's schools
and one about which parents and taxpayers have a right to be informed."

The US report covers the prevalence of sexual misconduct by teachers
and other school employees, offender characteristics, the offenders'
targets and recommendations for prevention of educator sexual misconduct.

Student winners in CA Challenge

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) announced winners
in the seventh annual Ontario CA Challenge, this summer. The province-wide
accounting competition, consisting of 75 senior-level multiple-choice
questions, was held in May at over 50 accounting firms across the province.
More than 2,500 students have taken the challenge since the contest's
inception in 1998. This year, 333 students from 115 high schools across
Ontario participated.

Lionel Chow from Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy (Markham)
and Jack Snider of Waterloo Collegiate Institute tied for first place
in the province (eliminating the second prize category), while Katty
Chau, also from Waterloo Collegiate Institute and Daisy Cheung of Earl
Haig Secondary School (Toronto) tied for third.

"The Ontario CA Challenge is a highly popular initiative intended to
encourage students to pursue chartered accountancy as a profession," says
Duane Soares, the Institute's director of career information.

The province-wide Ontario first and third place winners each receive
$1,500 and $500 respectively. All participants in the CA Challenge receive
a certificate and a congratulatory letter. A plaque honouring the top
three students in each CA District is sent to their respective schools.

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Francophone student exchange

The Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française
(ACELF) offers 11 to 14-year-old francophone students a chance to live
in another community or province for eight to ten days. The program covers
transportation costs for 25 students and two teachers, as well as advice.
To be eligible, schools must submit a detailed hosting plan that covers
the various educational aspects of the exchange. ps

Administrator of the year

Registrar recognized

College Registrar Doug Wilson (centre) is the proud recipient
of Niagara University's 2004 Administrator of the Year award presented
by Father Daniel O'Leary and College of Education Dean Debra Colley
in Lewiston, NY.

BC grads rate their programs

The BC College of Teachers has completed its fifth triennial survey
of recent graduates from teacher-education programs in British Columbia.